1. ccent
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2007
SECTION
D
Nature Active Outdoors
November is a great month for As the days grow shorter, Tim
rare bird sightings. 2D Jones’ campfires grow larger. 2D
“If you’ve got six traps and eight mice, you lose.”
— LEE FARLEY,
DOC’S MOTORCYCLE SUPERSTORE, WATERBURY
WHEN GOOD WEATHER’S AWAY ...
Mice will play
Tips for winterizing, mouse-proofing your motorcycle
RIDE-CT
cle Superstore in Waterbury, recalling
BY BUD WILKINSON
the mess that they created while telling
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
me that a sure-fire way to thwart the ro-
Y
es, it’s finally getting colder. dents this winter is to spread a sheet of
Donning layers of clothing plastic under the bike, then spray bug
(and plugging in for those killer on the plastic around the bike and
with heated apparel) is now “repeat monthly.” What about mouse-
becoming a necessity when riding. traps as an alternative solution? “If
Those leisurely, sun-drenched break- you’ve got six traps and eight mice, you
fast cruises of summer have given way to lose,” Farley replied wryly.
briefer, more spur-of-the-moment after- Tossing down some mothballs would-
noon rides for the increasingly bundled n’t hurt, either, suggested Bob LaRosa,
up riders of autumn who are stoically re- owner of LA-One Motorsports in Water-
sisting what’s likely ahead weather-wise. bury, who also counseled that it’s a good
Stopping at the Kent Coffee and idea for anyone who puts their bike away
Chocolate Company late Sunday after- for a winter nap to check in all storage
noon to give my own chilled fingers a compartments for treats that might
chance to warm up before switching tempt wildlife or eventually ooze in hard-
gloves to the more insulated gauntlets to-clean places. “Don’t leave candy in
stowed in my saddlebag, I heard myself your fairing,” he said.
ordering hot chocolate instead of the usu- What other advice is there for prep-
al coffee, which certainly suggests that ping a bike for winter storage?
the 2007 riding season may be much “What do you consider winter? Some
closer to an end than most riders would folks ride (year-round, while) some folks
like to acknowledge. don’t. It’s not Anchorage, Alaska,” said
Last winter’s surprisingly short hiatus, LaRosa of the climate in Connecticut, ex-
which for me only lasted from January plaining that there are no one-size-fits-all
15 through March 15, provided sufficient guidelines for winterizing a motorcycle.
time for mice to nest under the V-Rod’s That’s because there are different
air box cover. They packed grass clip- types of bikes (air-cooled versus liquid-
pings and stuffed seeds around the air cooled, for instance), different types of
filter as my bike sat silently strapped on riders (from hardy to wimps) and differ-
a motorcycle lift in the back of garage. ent storage possibilities.
“Mice will go anywhere,” said Lee Far-
See WINTERIZING, Page 2D
ley, general manager of Doc’s Motorcy-
Against all odds, he survived watery ordeal When the Sea Fever and Fair
BY MICHAEL TOUGIAS
Wind reached Georges Bank
For the full story
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
the next morning, the seas were
The events of this drama are
Most of us think of November building rapidly and the wind
told in their entirety in
in New England as a month for approached gale force. Over the
Michael Tougias’ new book,
football games, leaf raking, and course of the morning the
“Fatal Forecast: An Incredi-
Thanksgiving with family or waves built to over 70 feet and
ble True Story of Disaster
friends. But for Ernie Hazard, the Sea Fever and Fair Wind
and Survival at Sea.” Visit
November will always be the were trapped on Georges Bank,
www.michaeltougias.com.
month he considers his “new miles from safe harbor.
birthday”; a time when he The storm soon reached hur-
should have died but somehow, ricane force with winds topping
through sheer determination, On the day they departed the an incredible 100 miles per
courage and luck, he survived weather reports forecast typical hour, and both vessels were in
against all odds. This is Ernie’s autumn conditions for the next danger.
story. three days on fishing grounds. Captain Peter Brown on the
The National Weather Ser- Sea Fever (his father owned the
On a cold November day in vice issued this report even Andrea Gail of Perfect Storm
1980, two fishing vessels, the though the organization knew fame) swung the boat around so
Fair Wind and the Sea Fever, its lone weather buoy at it would face the seas and avoid
set out from Cape Cod, Massa- Georges Bank was malfunction- having its stern driven under by
chusetts, to catch offshore lob- ing. The Weather Service also the breaking waves.
sters at Georges Bank, lying 130 elected not to tell mariners of
CONTRIBUTED
See SURVIVED, Page 2D
miles to the southeast. the malfunction.
Sea Fever, the day after the storm.